Improvement in nail-plate feeders



N.FETERS, PHOTO-LITHOGRAPHER WASHINGTON D C UNITED STATES PATENT'OEEicE."-

JOHN S. FISK, OF YOUNGSTOWN, OHIO.

IMPROVEMENT IIN NAILPLATE FEEDERS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 39, 105, dated June 30,1863.

T0 @ZZ whom if may concern,.-

Beitknown that I, JOHN S. FIsK, of Youngstown, in the county of Mahoningand State of Ohio, have invented a new and Improved Automatic Feeder forNail-Machines, and I do hereby declare the following to be a full andexact description of the same, reference being had to the accompanyingdrawings, making part of this specification, in which- Figure l is aside elevation of the said inaehine. Fig. 2 is a vertical transversesection at w Fig. 3 is a plan or top view. Figs. 4 and 5 are side andend views of cams hereinafter described.

Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in the severalviews.

The subject of my invention is an automatic machine by which thenail-plate is fed forward, at proper intervals, to a distance equal tothe width of a nail, and after each feed-motion is retracted andelevated so as to turn the plate without interferrin g with the shearsor any other part of the machine.

The invention particularly consists, first, in mechanism for retractingthe plate preparatory to turning second, in mechanism for raising theplate preparatory to turning; third, in mechanism for inverting theplate fourth, in devices for retracting the carriage and throwing theworking parts out of gear when the plate is exhausted.

In order that others skilled in the art to which my invention appertainsmay be enabled to fully understand and use the same, I will proceed todescribe its construction and operation.

A A represent various parts of a stationary frame, which may besupported on legs B B, or one end may be bolted to the frame of thenailmachine.

C is a carriage working on guideways c a on the main frame andmovedforward by an endless screw, D, which may receive continuous motion fromthe main driving-shaft E, through the medium of gearing d.

F' is a hinged nut, consisting` of a pair of jaws pivoted at j' to ahanger depending from the carriage O, and clasping the endless screw D.The said nut is held in gear with the screw by eccentric slots g on adisk, G, which may be turned by a lever, H, so as to contract the jaws.The lever is held in this position bya spring-catch, I, taking into ahorizontal rod, J, which is pivoted to the lever.

j is a spiral spring, acting to retract the lever H when the rod J- isreleased by the spring catch, as hereinafter explained. The jaws F arethus opened, disconnecting the carriage from the endless screw, and thecar- `riage is then drawn back to its rearmost position by a weight, K,attached to the end of a cord or chain, k, passing over a pulley k".

M is a bevel-pinion sliding on a feather, e, on the driving-shaft E, andmoved in either direction by an arm, G', projecting downward from thehub of the slotted diskG so as to throw the said pinion into or out ofgear with a second bevelpinion,N, on the end of a transverse shaft, O,on which shaft a series of cams, o' o2 o3 o? o5, are adjustably secured.The rod I), which carries the nailplate,is supported at its rear end bya standard, Q, on the carriage O, Within which standard it is free toslide and turn. In front it is supported in a rocking boX, R', on theupper end of a vertical rod, It, pivoted'at its lower end to the end ofa lever, S, which is fulcrumed adjustably at s to 3a hanger, S',depending from the carriage O.

T isa second lever, fulerumed adjustabl y at t to a hanger, T', alsodepending from the carriage C. From the outer end of the lastnamed leverrises a rod, U, having at its up per end a rack, u, which isconstantlyin gear' with a pinion, u', working over a groove on theplate-rod P, and provided with a tongue or key t'ting in the said grooveso as to permit the rod P to move within it longitudinally, but impartrotation thereto at proper periods. The inner end of the lever S isdepressed at intervals by the cams o2 05and thelever T by the cam o3,and when released by the said cams their outer ends are depressed by thesprings s t'.

V is a vertical lever, fulcrumed at its center in the carriage C, andforked at its upper end to iit over a grooved collar, p, on the platerodP. The cams o' o4 act upon the lever V, retract the rod P, and whenreleased by the said cams it is restored to its former position by aspiral spring, p'.

P may represent the nail-plate, whichmay be held to the rod by anycustomary means.

X represents an inclined stationary cam, by which the springcatch I isautomatically retracted from the rod J, so as to release the latter whenthe carriage reaches its forward position.

The operation is as follows: The nut F being in gear with screw D, andbevel-pinion M being in gear with pinion N, as shown in the drawings,rotation is imparted to the shaft E by any suitable means. Thiscommunicating through the gearing d to the screw-shaft D, working withinthe nut F, advances the carriage C at a regular speed. When a nailblankhas been severed, the cam o', bearing against the lower end of the leverV, restores the plate-rod P to its lower and forward position, themotion ofthe carriage having in the meantime advanced the plate farenough for the separation of another blank. While this is bein geffected the continued pressure ofthe cam o3 upon the lever T holds therack stationary,4

and thus keeps the plate from turning, and it is so held until the camso4 o5 again act upon the levers S and V so as to elevate and retract theplate-rod, as before explained. This done, the cam o3 releases thelever-T and the spring t, depressing its outer or rear end draws downthe rack and thus again inverts the plate and so holds it until it hasbeen again restored to a position for cutting and another blank severed,after which the work proceeds as before explained. When the carriagereaches its forward position and a nail-plate has been exhausted, thespring-catch I, passing under the stationary cam X, is retracted fromtherod J, upon which the springj throws back the lever H, which opensthe hinged nut F, and permits the weight K to draw the carriage C back,and at the same timethrows the bevel-pinion M out of gear with thebevelpinion N. The machine then remains at rest until a new plate hasbeen supplied to the rod P and the lever restored toits forwardposition, which throws the whole apparatus into gear and the workproceeds as before.

The drawings represent the plate retracted, elevated, and in the act ofturning.

The cams o', o2, o3 o, o5, and X, lever G, and other parts where it isneedful, are secured to their shafts by set-screws, so as to beadjustable thereon, to regulate the periods and extent of motion of thevarious parts, as may be required.

Various modifications may be made in this machine without changing itsessential characteristics. Forinstance, the bevel-pinions M N may beconstantly in gear with each other, the latter turning loosely on itsshaft, but thrown into and out of gear therewith by a suitable slidingclutch, worked automatically or otherwise.

The inversion of the nail-plate P may be effected by a segment-coggedwheel, instead of by the rack u.

The levers S, T, and Vmay, if preferred, be fulcrumed at their ends andmoved by cams bearing ou their central parts.

The cutting-shears are not here represented, and may be in any of theknown forms.

The driving-sh aft E maybe geared by bevelcog wheels to that of thenailmachine proper, so as to work in connection therewith.

The variation in the motion of the carriage to adapt the machine for thecutting of larger or smaller nails may be effected either by the use ofscrews D of different pitch or by changing the gears d, or by othersuitable means.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new therein anddesire to secure by Letters'Pa-tent, is-

1. Retracting the nail plate, preparatory to turning the same, by meansof one or more cams, o o, and a lever, V, and afterward restoring it bymeans of a spring, p', all substantially as described.

` 2. The combination of one or more cams, o2 o5, lever S, and rod R, forraisin g the plate, substantially as described.

3. The rocking-box R', employed iu the described combination with theplate-rod P and elevating-rod It.

4. The combination of the lever T, rack u, and pinion u, or theirdescribed equivalents, for inverting the plate.

5. The hinged nut F, employed in the described combination with theendless screw D and carriage C, to advance the latter and

